Object

Representation ID: 18019

Received: 11/10/2021

Respondent: Mike Wood MP

[DUH222]

Country Plan, with regard to site reference DUH222 at Severn Drive. I object to the proposal due concerns relating to:
• Loss of green space and recreational facilities
• Impact on local wildlife and natural habitats
• Cumulative impact of many other developments in the local area on local roads, schools and health services
• The site is poorly located for the parts of the Black Country that are expected to experience highest population growth over the course of this plan.


I hope that you will reconsider these proposals


Ref: DUH222

As the local Member of Parliament for Dudley South, I am writing to submit my objection to the proposed development of Corbyns Hall Open Space, Severn Drive, Pensnett (BCP Ref DUH222).
I object to proposals for the development of this site for the reasons listed below.

The green space at Severn Drive is at the heart of the local community and is used on a daily basis by families, dog walkers and as a safe area for children to play outside. With the high density of housing and little access to recreational open spaces, this site is vital to resident’s mental health and wellbeing which has especially been the case during the pandemic.

The use of the field as the cover image for the latest edition of Dudley Council’s “Your borough, Your home” magazine highlights the importance of this green space to the local community.

The large abundance of wildlife in the area must also be taken into consideration. The site is home to endangered species such as bats, and newts, which would be irrevocably displaced by the development of the proposed 15 new homes.

Furthermore, my constituents living in the area have already been in contact with me regarding their concerns about the current levels of traffic congestion. The local infrastructure is struggling to cope with the present volume of traffic so further families with vehicles moving to the area would only exacerbate this issue. Residents also have problems with accessing the estate, they tell me that entering and exiting the estate through Corbyns Hall Road and Corbyns Hall Lane is very difficult as the roads are congested and narrowed by parked cars. The cumulative impact of new development in and around Pensnett will place unsustainable pressures on the local road network, and the proposals for further housing on this site near Severn Drive will make an extremely difficult situation even worse.

In addition, Severn Drive is a fairly narrow road and these new homes would place additional pressure on parking.

Finally, services in the area are already stretched, especially following recent housing developments being built such as at Gibbons Lane. I regularly receive emails and telephone calls from my constituents regarding their concerns about waiting times for doctor’s appointments and since the local GP practice in Pensnett, High Oak Surgery, closed this has forced residents to travel elsewhere for treatment. Schools are also facing immense pressure due to being over-subscribed which is leaving students on long waiting lists for a place at their preferred school.

It is concerning that the assessments made of the site in the evidence base published alongside the draft Plan contain such basic factual errors as to call into question whether the person responsible had actually visited the area - or was even looking at the right part of the map! Local residents will struggle to locate the canal that the RAG assessment claims separates the site from existing dwellings.

The methodology underlying the draft Black Country Plan is fundamentally flawed. Instead of recognising the need to link areas for development with levels of population growth in different parts of the region, the draft plan is indifferent to where in the Black Country sites are located. This has led to the perverse - and illogical - proposal that very large numbers of houses (including those that have either recently been completed or which are currently under construction) ought to be developed in a small area around Kingswinford and Pensnett even though ONS project very low levels of population growth in those parts of the region, while boroughs with far higher projected population growth are due to build far fewer new homes than Dudley. This is enormously unfair on residents in Dudley who face the loss of precious green spaces so that homes can be built that are not needed by local people, but it is also unfair on those families in areas of the Black Country that will need many more houses but will be expected to move miles away to the other side of the region.

There is a clear need for decision-makers to make renewed efforts to secure additional brownfield sites, to invest in any land remediation necessary to make them suitable for housing development, and to avoid development on important green spaces such as this.

In conclusion, I object to the proposed development on Severn Drive and would encourage this site to be withdrawn from the draft Plan, and further alternative sites on brownfield land to be sought.